Tips for Using Public Wi-Fi Networks
By the Federal Trade Commission
Wi-Fi hotspots in coffee shops,
libraries, airports, hotels,
universities, and other public
places are convenient, but often
they’re not secure. If you
connect to a Wi-Fi network,
and send information through
websites or mobile apps,
it might be accessed by
someone else.
To protect your information
when using wireless hotspots,
send information only to sites
that are fully encrypted, and
avoid using mobile apps
that require personal or
financial information.
How Encryption Works
How to Tell if a Website
Encryption is the key to keeping Is Encrypted
your personal information
secure online. Encryption
scrambles the information you
send over the internet into a
code so it’s not accessible to
others. When you’re using
wireless networks, it’s best to
send personal information only
if it’s encrypted — either by an
encrypted website or a secure
Wi-Fi network.
If you send email, share digital
photos and videos, use social
networks, or bank online,
you’re sending personal
information over the internet.
The information you share is
stored on a server—a powerful
computer that collects and
delivers content. Many
websites, like banking sites,
use encryption to protect your
information as it travels from
your computer to their server.
sign-in page, but if any part of
your session isn’t encrypted,
your entire account could be
vulnerable. Look for https on
every page you visit, not just
when you sign in.
What About Mobile Apps?
Unlike websites, mobile apps
don’t have a visible indicator
like https. Researchers have
found that many mobile apps
don’t encrypt information
An encrypted website protects
properly, so it’s a bad idea to
only the information you send
use certain types of mobile apps
to and from that site. A secure
on unsecured Wi-Fi. If you plan
wireless network encrypts all
to use a mobile app to conduct
To determine if a website is
the information you send using encrypted, look for https at the sensitive transactions—like
that network.
start of the web address (the “s” filing your taxes, shopping with
a credit card, or accessing your
is for secure). Some websites
bank account—use a secure
use encryption only on the
Continued on page 31
The Credit Professional
30
October 2015